4 Tips for a More Successful Website

Many small business owners make the same mistake when they build their first website: They think their new site will immediately start to pull in loads of customers just because it is online.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that (as you probably already know). However, it IS possible to build a successful long-term business presence online – it just takes a little planning.

Here are  4 Tips for a More Successful Website

1. Keep it Simple. First and foremost, the goal should be to create a positive user experience for your audience. So, be sure to consider how your customers and prospects will use it – and how it will help you connect and interact with them.

Then, avoid anything that doesn’t support these goals.

Also, go easy on extraneous graphics, flashing images, cutesy cartoons and music. Instead, focus on providing useful content – and make it easy for your visitors to find it. Your website should present a clean and professional image and be easy to navigate.

2. Don’t Wait for Traffic. You can’t just wait for traffic to find you. Instead, you have to go out and find it.

You have two options here: you can either pay for it (e.g., PPC ads) or you can work on driving organic (non-paid) traffic to your site. (Paid advertising isn’t my area of specialization, so I’ll stay focused on the organic side here).

There are a lot of way you can target organic traffic. For starters, you can update your site frequently with fresh content, write guest blog posts for other sites in your niche, become active on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter, or participate in related forums.

The key is to  provide valuable content and input while you are making connections and building backlinks. The more you “stir the pot,” the better your long-term results will be.

3. Remember your “second” audience: The search engines. Of course, you’ll also want to make sure that your website (and each of its pages) is search engine friendly. “On-page SEO” is important (and is something you can actually control!) – including title tags for each page and developing an internal linking strategy is a great start to this.

4. Be approachable. Many websites are cold and unfriendly – and very impersonal. People are skeptical, especially when doing business online. Before they’ll do business with you, most people need to know, like and trust you. Be professional, but also reassure your readers that there is indeed a real person behind the website.

One way to accomplish this is to include an “about us” section  on your website. Include a professional picture of you and your team (if you have one) either there or elsewhere on your site. Share a little about your business, but be sure to keep the focus on how you can help them.

A successful website is within your reach – it just takes a little planning. Keep these 4 tips in mind and you’ll be on your way.

Til Next Time,

PS Need help? My company specializes in developing user-friendly websites and Content Marketing strategies for offline business owners. Contact me today to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation!